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Flood
The Flood, referred by the Covenant as the Parasite, are a species of highly virulent parasitic organisms that can reproduce and grow by consuming sentient life forms of sufficient biomass and cognitive capability. The Flood can infect and mutate humans and Covenant species, such as Unggoy, Kig-Yar, T'vaoan, Sangheili, and Jiralhanae. Overview and Background The Flood are an extremely adaptable, dangerous, and expendable parasitic life form. They were first encountered in the Milky Way galaxy by an Ancient Human empire 10,000 years prior to the Forerunner-Flood war. The earliest known instance of the highly infectious viral super cell later known as The Flood form to be encountered came in a fine desiccated powder, contained in cylinders. This powder was actually Precursor remains. Flood Forms, Weaponry and Equipment While they don't use a rank structure, there are a variety of types and Combat Forms. Gameplay Information General In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Flood were notorious for their erratic style of combat. They would bum rush enemies, and the player, firing their weapons with no regard for their own well being. Many players don't enjoy fighting them for their lack of in-game intellect. SPV3 addresses this issue by adding new types of Flood enemies, introducing factors that welcome new strategies, creating new A.I.'s and altering existing ones for them. Since there are now more types of Covenant and Marines, there are more types of Flood. Due to the changes made by CMT, Combat Forms will generally, though not as intellegently as uninfected enemies and allies, act like whatever hosts they have infected. Their zombie like behaviour is still embedded in them as a faction, however: Human Combat Forms are fewer in number, since there are less humans than Covenant on Halo, and usually hang back and shoot enemies at a distance with mid to long range weapons, like living Marines would. Elite Combat Forms now have energy shields left over from the combat harnesses of their Sangheili hosts. They act similar to how they did in CE, but know to seek cover when their shields are down and let them recharge. They are also smarter than other Flood, being able to use certain weapons secondary fire, like the Plasma Pistols EMP charged shot. The colour of their armour reflects the energy shield strength associated with living Elites. Carrier Forms, now identified as infected Grunts, act as they did before, but are not instant kills when they explode next to players and release a lot more Infection Forms. Infection Forms are much higher in number than Halo CE, and have the added ability to infect living hosts on the spot, adding extra factors to decision making in the game. Flood forms created from Infection Forms on the field are determinant to the NPC being infected and will gain the gameplay and A.I. quirks of the host that regularly spawned Flood forms have. The only enemies in the game that can't be infected are Hunters, Sentinels and Enforcers. Contradictary to other games, they also can't infect corpses or reanimate dead Flood forms, possibly for fairness of gameplay reasons since dead bodies can't be destroyed in Halo CE, and by extention, SPV3. Because of the new infection ability of the Infection Forms, new enemy units for the Flood were created from scratch for SPV3 by CMT. Jackals, Skirmishers and Brutes can also be infected by the Flood. Jackal/Skirmisher Combat Carrier Forms are spider-like in appearance, walking on all fours. They are somewhat similar to the Stalker Pure Flood Form from Halo 3. They leap at enemies to attack them at close range, but are very easy kill, a regular melee attack is enough to do the job. They will explode into several Infection Forms when killed, as many as Carrier Forms did in Halo CE. Brute Combat Forms differ in appearance from other Combat Forms, having a pincer like appendage on their left arm in favour of the tentacle like claws seen on other Flood forms. They essentially act identical to the Flood seen in CE, mirroring the Brutes aggressive nature, possessing no A.I. quirks or shielding of any kind. However, one particular Brute Combat Form is encountered as a one time enemy in The Commander and is eqquiped with Brute Power Armour. Despite this, it is still easy to dispatch. New types of Elite and Human Flood forms also exists. Elite and ODST Combat Carrier Forms, like the Jackal Combat Carrier Form, explode into Infection Forms after being dispatched. They are easily recognisable due to the enormous, bludging, yellow, sack-like cysts on their backs. Elite Combat Carrier Forms usually don't carry weapons, but move much faster than any other enemy in the game. On occasion, they can appear with active Plasma Grenades in both hands, charging at enemies in a kamikaze fashion. This usually ends in high damage or, more likely, instant death. The ODST Combat Carrier Form acts much like the Marine Combat Form, only it is immune to headshots (see below). The Blind Wolves found in missions like Halo and The Silent Cartographer: Evolved, are featured in the missions None Left Behind and The Commander: Evolved as Flood forms. They are unique as they don't carry weapons but are armed with natural projectiles, reminiscent of the Ranged Pure Flood Forms of Halo 3. They are fairly tough as the weakspot where the Infection Form resides is in their mouth, protected by their top jaw (see below). Upon death, they also release more Infection Forms. Flood growth pods are also a feature of the Flood in SPV3. They usually appear in areas where the Flood infestation is deep rooted. Damaged Combat Forms are stored inside them to heal but they are also used as incubation pods for Infection Forms. Growth pods come in different shapes and sizes and will explode if players get near, but not all pods. A small number of pods thoughout the campaign will only erupt if players shoot them, but it is impossible to tell which is which unless they are left alone. Others may remain dormant but release Combat or Infection Forms if their location is revisited. Strategy Since the Flood will appear in high numbers, the best strategy would be to use the Cluster Grenade or Fragmentation Grenade as soon as Combat Forms touchdown from where they spawn. If you have the Brute Plasma Pistol present, the overcharged shot can help take out many Combat Forms instantly, since the flames can cause whatever grenades they drop to explode. The M7057 Flamethrower, Sentinel Beam and Sentinel Sniper Beam are also very effective for this strategy against the Flood, especially in narrow areas, like in The Maw, due to their incineration effect. The Flamethrower will also quickly burn through an Elite Combat Form's shields. The M247 Machine Gun's high magazine can help to take down many Flood forms from a distance while the M91 Shotgun can do the same in close quarters. Any headshot weapon can be used to shoot the Infection Form that is controlling the Combat Form, resulting in an instant death (see below). Developer Information All Flood forms (with the exception of the Grunt Carrier Form and ODST Combat Carrier Form) have a region where the Infection Form can be destroyed, similar as to how the headshot region works in Halo 2 and Halo 3. The difference here is that the region will have a high multiplier for all damage, and Flood health can be manipulated so that damage to them will often result in them feigning death, with the Infection Form resulting in their true death. Certain damages such as the Brute Shot, melees, and explosives will cause enough damage to create a true death as well. A player using, say, an Assault Rifle or Plasma Rifle can ﬁre in bursts to take down the Infection Form controlling the Combat Forms, giving the player some more strategies than just pumping the Combat Forms full of bullets. All units will have their own unique modiﬁed health systems. Trivia * Infected Jackal Forms don't appear in other Halo game other than Halo Wars. * In Halo lore, Jackals technically can't be used for Combat Forms by the Flood due to their lack in calcium. * A rare, but possible sight in SPV3 is to see a Combat Form, usually Marine, that will not physically die no matter how much damage is inflicted. It's likely that this may simply be a minor glitch as it won't appear on the radar nor will other enemies acknowledge it. * Along with Combat Evolved's subtle gurgling and croaking sounds the Flood make, the screeches, howls and roars they emit from Halo 2 and 3 have been added to them in SPV3. ** Before SPV3.2, Jackal Combat Carrier Forms emitted different noises, producing high-pitched, over-powering crys and screeches. CMT altered them to sound like other Flood forms in SPV3.2, most likely due to complaints from players saying that the sound was very annoying. * The Flood buddy glitch is still possible in SPV3. * Characteristics of the Elite Combat Carrier Form resemble the Elite Combat Forms appearance in Halo CE. * Carrier forms actually come from infected Marines; however, Grunts are now used as incubators for the Flood. Although Lieutenant McKay theorized that Grunts aren't used for combat but instead for Carrier Forms, her theory was not true. Gallery TBA Category:Factions Category:The Flood